This book mainly serves as an elementary, self-contained introduction to several important aspects of the theory of global solutions to initial value problems for nonlinear evolution equations. The book employs the classical method of continuation of local solutions with the help of a priori estimates obtained for small data. The existence and uniqueness of small, smooth solutions that are defined for all values of the time parameter are investigated. Moreover, the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is described as time tends to infinity. The methods for nonlinear wave equations are discussed in detail. Other examples include the equations of elasticity, heat equations, the equations of thermoelasticity,